The Shyness of Us
by RedStarKae
Summary: Kaeleigh, the new girl at school, catches the eye of Lysander, who quickly falls for her. The two become best friends, both refusing to admit their feelings for one another. But during the summer, both of their lives are turned inside out when Dake comes around and steals Kaeleigh out from under Lysander's nose.
1. Chapter 1

Kaeleigh

My name is Kaeleigh Lynn Vogel. I am almost 17 years old. I just moved to a new city and transferred to my new high school, Sweet Amoris. I live with both of my parents and my older brother, Dominic. I have naturally curly hair, but its closer to ringlets than curls. It's always in my face, so it's constantly up in either a pony-tail or messy bun. I have pale blue eyes and caramel brown hair. Dominic says my pale, olive skin makes my eyes stand out more. I'd call him a liar but if there's one person he's never lied to, it's me.

Today is my first day at Sweet Amoris. As Melody, the student body vice president, gives me a tour, a boy catches my eye. He has silver hair, with the tips of his bangs dyed black. He's wearing Victorian era clothing, and has a stoic face. His eyes are two different colours. I notice this when he turns and locks eyes with me. I smile slightly, and know my smiles crooked. It always is. His cheeks turn slightly pink and he whips his head back around to his red-haired friend.

Melody is talking, but I have no clue what she's saying. Victorian boy has caught all of my attention.

* * *

><p>Lysander<p>

I was in love. I knew it from the second I saw her. Her ringleted pony-tail, her eyes, and dare I mention, her smile? I turn my head back to Castiel and can feel my face burning. He waits for Melody to take the new girl into the gymnasium before talking.

"Got a little crush there, Lysander? Well at least you have good taste. Must run in the family." He chuckles as I blush even more. I feel more than I see Rosalya come over by us.

"Say something, Castiel?" She asks knowingly. She turns to me after Castiel shrugs off her question. "And wow, Lysander? Having a crush on someone? Never thought I'd see that day..." She laughs. Her and Castiel laugh as I blush even more.

"She was gorgeous..." I whisper to my feet.

I have never felt this way before. It's... odd... Especially since I haven't even spoken to her and I know I like her. Normally I'd never be this quick to judge but... I know I love her.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaeleigh

I walk into AP Chemistry late, as I had gotten lost. My teacher takes one look at me and shows me to my seat and lab partner, Victorian boy. As I walk to the back of the class he blushes. I smile at him again and he blushes even more, but tries to hide it by turning away.

I hold my hand out and introduced myself.

Slowly, he shakes my hand. "Lysander..." He manages to mutter. "Pleased to meet you..." He finally looks back at me. He's still blushing a little, but he's smiling.

"I'm new here..." I regretted saying it as soon as the obvious came out of my mouth.

"I think I would have noticed you before if you hadn't been new." He laughs. Lysander's voice low and monotone, not too loud, and almost a pleasure to listen to.

I hear a quiet buzz and Lysander sneakily pulls his cell phone out of his pocket to read the text. His poker face is amazing, because no one in the world would've been able to tell he was texting.

I give Lysander a quizzical look when he turns back to me. "Castiel. He's a friend. Long red hair, can't miss him." He describes.

I nod and smile a little. When I look back up at the front, the teacher is looking at us begrudgingly. I laugh a little before pulling out my notebook and listening for notes.

Chancing a glance, I notice Lysander noticing me.

* * *

><p>Lysander<p>

Talking to her only makes me like her more. I have the fleeting thought of a dreaming future with Kaeleigh. I've never understood Leigh's obsession with Rosalya until now. I always thought "She's just a girl..." but now... He'd probably laugh at me like Castiel and Rosalya did. He probably already knew, knowing Rosalya.

Throughout class, I stole glances at Kaeleigh. She caught me twice and smiled. Although, I might have been staring... Not sure…

She takes meticulous notes, dotting every "i" and crossing every "t" with perfection, as though her life depends on it. She doesn't rush, but isn't slow. I'm not sure whether to call her handwriting printing or cursive. Some letters are cursive, some are printed, but every one of them is done so like the others of it's kind it could be mistaken for a font on a computer.

She bites her lip, and I curse myself for saying this, but she is perfection.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaeleigh

When the bell rings, I look at Lysander. He's putting his folder back into his bag but his eyes are in my direction, glancing under his eyelids. I bite my lip and he flings his backpack over his shoulder and stands. I have the strange urge to pet his face. It just looks so… smooth… touchable… I have to put my hands in my pockets to restrain myself.

After a moment of neither of us moving, I hear him faintly ask for my schedule. As I scramble for the sheet that tells me where my classes are, Lysander chuckles and stands up. He gently takes it from my hand and looks it over, a slight smile permeating his face.

"We have algebra 2, art, and French 3 together, besides this class." He states at last.

"Isn't algebra 2 next?" I ask.

He nods, smile replaced by stoicness. "And we're gonna be late if we don't hurry." He turns and starts walking. He walks at a comfortable pace, not too slow, but I don't have to struggle to keep up with him He doesn't talk, easy with the silence between us and the buzz of everyone else. He nods to his friend he was with earlier, Castiel, if I remember correctly, who in turn mouths something to Lysander that I couldn't understand. Lysander snaps his head to look straight ahead, blushing. I can't help but wonder what Castiel had said…

* * *

><p>Lysander<p>

I proceed to walk her to any class I can. She, unfortunately, has a different lunch than Castiel and me. When our last class of the day, French, comes around, I walk a little closer to her. Our shoulders brush a little. Kaeleigh doesn't seem to notice. When we get there, Ms. Duffet makes Kaeleigh introduce herself and give us background on her.

"Je m'appelle Kaeleigh." My name is Kaeleigh. "Je suis originaire de New York." I am originally from New  
>York. "Heureux de vous rencontrer." Pleased to meet you.<p>

I thought her voice was heavenly before… And then she spoke French… I could listen to her talk all day long…

Unfortunately, Kaeleigh was sat on the other side of the room, making speaking to her practically impossible. I watched the clock, willing it to move forward faster. I know this only makes the time go by slower, but I can't help it. If I'm not looking at ker, I'm looking at the clock. Finally, after an excruciating wait, the bell rings. I can't help but smile as I walk up to her, too busy packing up her stuff to notice my approach.

She jumps a little when she turns around and laughs. "I didn't hear you come up, you scared me a bit."

I smile a little more and nod my head towards the door to indicate I wanted to get going. She merrily obliges and walks to the door, a hop in her walk.

As we're walking to the main doors to leave, she gives me her number. I take this as a good sign. Castiel walks up to us and him and Kaeleigh talk like they're good friends. She must've seen my confused look, because she turns to me and tells me that they have Lit. Comp. 11 together. Getting it, I join the conversation. Castiel oddly has good manners.

"So are you liking it here so far?" He asks, completely serious. I can't keep the surprise off of my face.

"Pretty much, but I didn't know anyone at lunch. This girl called Rosalya came up to me though and sat with me, so it wasn't too bad. She was pretty cool." Kaeleigh explains.

This also surprises me. "Rosalya's my brother's girlfriend." I tell her. "I apologize in advance for anything she might've said to offend you…" Kaeleigh's confused by this, judging the look on her face. "She can be… blunt, to put it bluntly… She's really nice, but she doesn't think before she speaks." She nods a bit, then waves to someone behind me.

"Speak of the devil!" Kaeleigh exclaims. I turn to see Rosalya looking at me, arms crossed, with a joking smile on her face.

"LysBaby, you insult me." She can't even keep a straight face and starts laughing. "It's okay, I'm joking." She says after getting over her bout of laughs. "I tried not to offend her. Wouldn't want to scare your first-"

Castiel, thankfully, put a hand on Rosalya's mouth and shushes her. For this, she chomps his hand, but doesn't finish her sentence.

"Fuck, that hurt!" Castiel says, shaking his bitten hand. "Didn't have to go that far, jeez, Rosa."

They go into their own little conversation and I turn to Kaeleigh, ever silent. "We're all about to go to my house, would you like to come with, have some fun?" I ask, sure that if she says no I might do something completely out of character and actually plead. But fortunately for me, she says yes.

I tell Rosalya and Castiel time to go and we all start leaving the school. But Kaeleigh turns a different direction than us. Confused, Castiel calls after her. "Where are you going?"

"To my car…?" She explains, as though Castiel should've known.

I tell them I'll show her the way and go with her.

"Go get her, LysBaby!" Rosalya whispers, giving me a wink.


	4. Chapter 4

Kaeleigh

Lysander gives me the directions. Just as we pull into his driveway, however, my phone starts ringing. My dad. "Hello?" I answer.

"Where are you? You should be home by now." He snips.

He's mad. Now I'm scared. "I, uh… went home with a friend… Sorry, I forgot to ask you…" My heart sped up.

"You forgot? How do you just forget, Kaeleigh? You know you have to get permission the day before." His voice was rising, getting madder.

"I said I'm sorry… And I just met… them… today, how could I possibly have asked permission yesterday?" I chose my words carefully, not letting him know I was there with a boy. That'd really set him off.

I could hear him pull the phone away and place a hand over the phone. It was muffled, but I could hear him talking to someone.

"Dad, just let her be. She's a good kid, you shouldn't treat her like you do me. She won't get into trouble, and if you don't believe that then you don't know your daughter at all." I could hear Dominic tell him. I loved my brother so much…

"You've lost all right and trust in this house, Dominic, be quiet. Why should I listen to you? I can raise my daughter however I please." My father snipped back. I hated the way he talked to Dominic. He treated him like a third-class citizen and was always disrespectful and rude. I admit, Dominic made some mistakes, but he's done everything in his power to make up for it and regain our parent's trust, but yet he was still treated like shit.

My dad put the phone back to his ear and was silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "I want to talk to a parent and only then can you stay." Surprisingly he'd given in.

I tell him to hold on and turn to Lysander. "He wants to talk to one of your parents first."

He visually gulps before whispering to me, "My parents don't live with us. It's just my brother and me..." That was not going to fly with my dad. "Tell him my dad will be home in a while, and then he can speak with my brother. Leigh can pretend to be my dad."

I nod and tell my dad what Lysander told me to tell him. Reluctantly he lets me be and I can actually call myself free.

* * *

><p>Lysander<p>

I realize then how short of a leash Kaeleigh is on. Very unlike mine. I don't even have a leash. I want to ask why, but decide against it, figuring that her parents are just strict, though something tells me it goes deeper than that.

"Whelp…" It's an odd kind of sigh, one unique to her. "Shall we go inside?" She gestures, a bit unsure. I smile slightly and nod. On our way to my door, I allow myself to place a leading hand on the small of her back as an excuse to touch her but take it off once we're up the stairs. I open the door for her and walk in after her, watching her ringletted hair sway back and forth in her ponytail with every step. It looks soft, but I don't dare touch it.

She sits down on the couch in a way that suggests that she's already comfortable in my house. I sit next to her with my body turned slightly towards hers and ask, "So your dad's protective?"

She laughs without humor. "No, just controlling. He's even worse with my brother. Dominic isn't even allowed out of the house, nor can he be home alone. He forced my mom to quit her job to insure that he'd never be home alone, and in order for her to go grocery shopping my dad has to be home. By the way, as far as he knows, you live with your parents and Rosalya is your sister. Otherwise, you'd never see me again." She laughs again and looks down at her clasped hands. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you any of that… It's unlike me…"

I nod, even though she didn't need to apologize to me. I hear Castiel pull up my driveway way to fast, tires squealing on the sharp turn. When I get up and look outside the window, Rosalya is getting out the back driver's side the Leigh, the two of them laughing. Castiel twirls his keys as he pulls a cigarette out and lights it. They walk in loudly, and Leigh walks up to Kaeleigh and holds his hand out. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kaeleigh. I'm Leigh; Lysander's older brother. I own the clothes shop here in town, and you get the friends discount." He says politely, a big grin on his face.

Kaeleigh shakes his hand, laughing. "Well as far as this visit goes, you're going to be Rosalya and Lysander's father and you're going to talk to my dad." She says, dialing a number into her phone. Leigh nods, and Castiel jokes about how I've "snagged a bad girl."

After an awkward moment of Leigh talking to Kaeleigh's dad, everyone finally sits back down. I notice very quickly how easily Kaeleigh fits into our little group, and that Rosalya has practically already decided that Kaeleigh's her new best friend. It wasn't too hard to imagine this being a life-long thing, the five of us being together.

Time goes by too quickly. Next thing we know, it's eight o'clock and Kaeleigh has to leave. I walk her to her car and tell her to meet Castiel and me in the courtyard in the morning, and when I get back inside, Rosalya whistles at me and laughs. "Are you two going to get married and have kids, Lysander? Do you love her?" She half-jokes.

I shrug as I search my backpack for my notepad, which I seem to have lost again. Unable to wait, I rip a sheet of loose leaf out of a notebook and write down lyric ideas. /Time is always unfairly short when you're with an angel/To be wrapped in her innocence for all eternity/That's the best way to dream/


	5. Chapter 5

Kaeleigh

Slowly, I got to know everyone better. It didn't take too long for me to become one of their group, and after about a month of me hanging out with them every day after school, my father stopped making me tell him. It was just assumed I was with them. Of course, I felt horrible about leaving Dominic alone with them every day, but he told me he was happy for me and not to worry about it. I found that the more I was around Lysander, the more I liked him and I had a hard time denying any of my feelings to Dominic, who constantly teased me about it.

I was woken up by my phone buzzing next to my head. I check the time and groan, seeing that someone was trying to get a hold of me at 7:30 am on a Saturday. It was Lysander, no big surprise. "Meet us at the beach? This might be our last chance to go before it gets too cold." I told him to give me a few minutes as I got out of bed and into a swimsuit. I leave a note for my parents on the kitchen table and quickly pull out of the driveway, towel and sunscreen in hand. When I got there, I saw Rosalya and Leigh sitting on a towel together making out, Castiel throwing a frisbee around for Demon, and Lysander by himself, drawing in the sand down by the water with a stick.

I sneak up behind him after setting my stuff down on the sand next to Rosalya and Leigh and put my hands over his eyes. "Guess who?" I say in my man voice imitation. He laughs and turns around to face me. There's a small smile on his face, and it makes me laugh. He glances up quickly and takes my shoulders, moving me over a few feet quickly. Next thing I know, Demon's on top of him, frisbee in his mouth.

"Demon, apparently..." He jokes as he gets up, brushing his shirt off from sand. He gives me a once over and blushes slightly. "Blue looks good on you. You should wear it more often." He coughs and looks away from me, unsure of what to do now. After a few more awkward seconds, he turns back to what he'd written in the sand and quickly runs a foot over what had been there so that I couldn't see it. Without a word, he draws a circle and hands me the stick.

* * *

><p>Lysander<p>

She takes the stick from me and draws two smaller circles inside my circle, adding to it, before she hands it back to me. We continue to add to the picture until it just becomes a big blob of scribbles, laughing as we do it. As we flatten out the sand, Castiel comes over, hands us each a sandwich, and then stands between us, arms draped around our shoulders. "Are we going to go swimming, or what? Last chance guys, let's make the best of it!" He encourages.  
>"Come on, Lysbaby, take it off!" Rosalya yells to me from across the beach. "Let's see your wings!" I glare at her, unwilling to get in the water until Kaeleigh grabs my arm and looks up at me.<p>

"Let's swim!" She says, doe eyes begging me. I give in and start to unbutton my shirt as Leigh and Rosalya run past us into the water. Castiel runs up onto the dock and cannonballs into the deeper water. But Kaeleigh stands with me and waits as I take my shirt off, button by button, patiently. I look at her as I throw it as far up the beach as I can, followed by me turning and running into the water, Kaeleigh following.

As we follow the others out to the deeper part, Kaeleigh sinks down to chin level, enjoying the warm water. She dips down and swims past me under the surface, seeming to glide through it. When she resurfaces, her hair is pin-straight and about 5 inches longer. She pushed her bangs back with her hands, and at that moment I knew she was the most beautiful girl in the world, to me at least. I'd do anything for her.

We all stayed in the water for about an hour. Kaeleigh and I were crowned the King and Queen of Chicken Fights (we had won against Leigh and Rosalya 5 to 1) and by the end we all had wrinkly hands and feet and chilled to the bone. Kaeleigh's lips were so blue, they almost matched her eyes, so I wrapped my discarded shirt around her and sat close enough to her that she could feel my body heat, but not close enough to touch her.

"Wow, Kaekae, you're really good at that game!" Rosalya laughed, watching Kaeleigh shiver and smile.

"My brother and I used to play that game all the time when we were little." She explained, teeth chattering.

My eyes met Kaeleigh's and I asked the question I'd been dying to know the answer to for weeks. "Kaeleigh, why isn't your brother allowed out of the house? You two seem so close, but yet none of us have ever met him."

She looked down at her curled toes and sighed. "About four years ago, he got involved pretty heavily in drugs. At one point someone lit our house on fire because Dominic owed them drug money. He was addicted to meth, and he stole from everyone in the family but me. My mom's wedding ring, my dad's class ring, our tv, and anything else of value got pawned so he could get high. He never once lied to me about anything. I had known about the drugs and the stolen things. The day my father said 'Enough,' was the day we found Dominic close to dead in an alleyway. The drugs tests came back positive, and when he woke up he said that these guys he owed money to had threatened him with me. Our parents didn't buy it, but I know him better than they do. That's not something he'd lie about. So two years ago, my parents put him in lockdown to get him clean and keep him clean. It's worked, but they treat him like garbage. I trust him enough to let him go back into society. I don't see why they aren't..." She never once looked anywhere else but her feet.

Nobody knew what to say. Even Castiel was speechless. Rosalya and I each put a hand on Kaeleigh's back to comfort her, and she smiled at our touch. The smile was sad, but genuine, and I could feel myself fall for her even more than I already had.


	6. Chapter 6

Kaeleigh

Later that night, I was abruptly awoken by a nightmare. I was in a box, pitch black, and I couldn't move, and there was a man laughing maniacally. I couldn't stay in my room after that. Dominic was up watching tv in the living room; he was always up. We didn't say anything. He just played with one of my ringlets as I lay my head down on his lap. Once I was almost asleep, Dominic whispered to me, "Do I ever get to meet Lysander?" I look up at him and nod sleepily, making him chuckle. I fell asleep just seconds later.

For the second day in a row, I was awoken by an early morning text from Lysander. "My parents want to meet you and your family. Dinner's at six, be here by 5:30. And don't worry, my parents are in on the lie, they'll play along. Wear something nice." I figured everyone in Lysander's family must've been early risers, whereas no one in mine was. _7:25 in the morning, Lysander? Really? _I thought, smiling.

Quietly, I get up, trying not to wake Dominic, and start brewing myself a cup of coffee, needing the caffeine. I didn't bother responding to Lysander's text; he left nothing uncovered for me to ask about. The smell must've been the ticket, because by the time the coffee pot was full, my father was sitting down at the table, empty cup in hand. Dutifully, I pour him a cup and sit across from him.

"So Rosalya and Lysanders' parents want to meet you, mom,and Dominic." I explain without looking at him. "Tonight at 5:30 for dinner." I gulp, awaiting his response. The longer he stayed quiet, the more anxious I got.

Finally, he says, "Great, I've been wanting to meet them for quite some time now. See the house you've been spending so much time at. Meet this Lysander fellow you seem to have a soft spot for." He looks at me from under his brow and smirks. I blush and turn my head towards Dominic's waking figure. His stretched and smiled at us.

"Wait, what about meeting Kaeleigh's one true love?" He jokes, making me blush deeper. He starts laughing and stretches again, a cheshire grin across his face. He gets up and grabs himself a cup of coffee as well, sitting down and groggily drinking. "I do get to come, right Dad?" He asks, eyes sad but hopeful.

He scratches his chin in thought, watching his coffee steam. "Maybe." He says, tired. "I'll talk to your mother about it." The look on Dominic's face was priceless. For the first time in a long time, he was allowed out of the house, even if there was only a chance.

And I was excited, too. Dominic would get to finally meet Lysander and the rest of them, and I would finally get to meet Lysander's parents. I'd only seen pictures of them, and they both definitely took more after their mother. She was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen, if I was being perfectly honest. It was no wonder Lysander was so perfect.

My thoughts make me blush, and Dominic smirks, knowing who I'm thinking about. I look outside and see a nice, sunny autumn day, the leaves just starting to change colours. I had a good feeling about later tonight.

* * *

><p>Lysander<p>

My parents were my favourite people on earth at that moment. Not many would be willing to lie to their sons' friend's parents about who's been home. I was hoping Castiel would be here for this to help the lie, as he could fake his way through anything, but unfortunately, his parents were home and wanted him there.

Leigh and I were showing them where everything was, just to avoid suspicion. They had to know where the silverware was, for example, in order to pretend like they lived there with us. When 5:30 finally rolled around, I was so nervous about this that I was tapping my fingers and bouncing my leg, very unlike me. Rosalya and I met Kaeleigh and her family outside once they got there and Kaeleigh introduced us. I noticed how tan and slender her legs were under her white shorts, and had a quick fantasy of how soft they would feel under my hands.

A young man in his early 20's stepped out of the car last and walked up to us. He had messy honey brown hair, tousled into a barely passable mohawk, and stubble that he made look good. His eyes were the same bright blue as Kaeleigh's. In fact, he looked very much like her. I knew instantly that this was Dominic, her beloved older brother who wasn't ever allowed out of the house.

He shook my hand and laughed. "Can you believe they let me out?" He joked, then moved onto Rosalya to shake her hand. "I guess they thought it was better than leaving me home alone." His smile disappeared, though, once he noticed him and Kaeleigh's dad glaring at him. I saw then just how serious the situation was with Dominic and their dad. He truly was a prisoner.

We all stood around awkwardly before Rosalya finally beamed her big smile and chipped, "Let's go inside, shall we?" in her usual joyful tone. Following her recommendation, we all entered and we exchanged more introductions, still pretending like Kaeleigh and my parents were well acquainted and that Rosalya was their daughter. We all pulled if off pretty nicely, and soon dinner was finished and we were all sitting around the table. Kaeleigh sat between Rosalya and me, and with the amount of people, everyone was packed tightly together.

Not that I minded; my knee was pressed against Kaeleigh's, and I could feel the heat of her bare skin through my pants. I'd never wanted someone so badly in my entire life, and never had I wanted her this much before. But I kept calm and played my poker face. Her and I glanced at each other, almost on cue, and then she poked my cheek lightly. "Smile." She ordered softly, and I willing complied, making my classic smirk cross my face.

Our parents were making small talk, things like what they did for a living, where they went to college, et cetera. Rosalya and Leigh were not-so-secretly playing footsie under the table, and Dominic and Kaleigh seemed to be having a mental conversation with each other, proving just how close they were. Watching them was actually quite entertaining. They even made similar faces. It was almost as though they had the same genetic pattern but different chromosomes. Then all of a sudden, Dominic's face became mischievous and Kaeleigh was shaking her head, eyes fearful but playful.

"So, Lysander…" Dominic began as Kaeleigh hid her face in her hands. "How many girls have you dated before? Kissed anyone? How many?" I almost choked on my food while he was asking these questions, and everyone at the table freezed, surprised by Dominic's sudden examination.

I took a deep breath and looked at him right in the eyes as I answer. "Two, yes, and two." He smiled a bit and I took another bite of food, hoping he wouldn't dive further.

Alas, I was wrong. "Were either of them serious?" I looked him in the eyes and saw complete seriousness. "What about my sister? How do you feel about her?"

I could feel my cheeks starting to turn red. I wipe my mouth with a napkin and look down at my plate. "I'll pass on those questions. Besides, she's my sisters best friend, that'd be weird." I keep my face stoic as I look around at the table- hoping that Kaeleigh's parents believed the sister part- which had become awkwardly silent. Even Rosalya was silent. Kaeleigh was playing with her food, making a stack of peas on her plate, avoiding looking at anyone and showing her bright red blush.

Just as Dominic opened his mouth to say something, Mr. Vogel cut him off. "Dominic! Enough!" When Dominic laughed, I could tell by Mr. Vogel's face of seething rage that Dominic was normally completely submissive.

"Excuse me for trying to protect my sister in a way that's not locking her up, even after she's legally an adult. I'm pretty sure that a court of law would consider that false imprisonment, which, by the way, is a felony in some cases and could result in 20 years prison time and over $10,000 in fines." Dominic's voice was loud, and if looks could kill, his glare would've incinerated Mr. Vogel to a pile of dust by now. I could tell it was the first time he'd ever stood up for himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself before turning back to me. "Just don't hurt her." He whispered before continuing to eat his food.

Kaeleigh looked up at my parents and mouthed, "I'm so sorry," to them, then stated to her brother, "We aren't even together, Dominic, don't worry about it."

That hit me hard in a way that even I couldn't explain. The rest of the night went by swimmingly once everyone got over Dominic's outburst. It went back to the way it was before, and towards the end of dinner, I felt a hand on my leg, lightly brushing it. I looked over and Kaeleigh smiled and squeezed my leg a little, as though she was trying to send me a message. All that could go through my mind during the rest of the night was _Legs touching in secret/ Lips meeting in dreams/ What's in your heart/ I know what's in mine._


	7. Chapter 7

**et/ Lips meeting in dreams/ What's in her heart/ I know what's in mine. **

**Kaeleigh **

**Surprisingly, Dominic wasn't apprehended for what he had said at dinner. However, I **

**was still nervous to go to school and leave him there with them. My father did, however, **

**catch me before I left and asked me about my relationship with Lysander. "We're friends, **

**Daddy. That's all." I heard my voice crack when I said this and cursed myself in my head. **

"**Tell me the truth, Kaeleigh." His face was stern, and just then I saw how much **

**older he'd gotten physically since Dominic had started drugs. It had taken a toll on him, and **

**now his baby girl was only a year away from leaving the nest. He was more worried about **

**the two of us than he let on. **

"**I like him, Daddy… A lot. I'm not entirely sure how he feels about me, but like he **

**said last night, Rosalya and I are best friends, and that'd be weird to him." Saying it outloud **

**hurt even more than I thought it would. "May I go to school now?" He nodded and let me go **

**to my car, watching me the whole time, eyes sadder than I'd ever seen them before. **

**Rosalya ran up to me and placed an arm around my shoulder when I got to school **

**and out of my car, and she was her normal smiley, giggly self. "So don't tell him I told you, **

**but I can't keep it to myself." She whispered in my ear. **

**I laugh and look up at her. "Well if I'm not supposed to know, then don't tell me." I **

**pull my ponytail out from under her arm so I can move my head more freely. **

"**It's about your birthday and Lys Baby…" She sang, knowing that now I needed to **

**know. She laughed before continuing. "He plans on taking you out to Victoria's, that really **

**fancy Italian restaurant that serves you champagne no matter what your age is, and then **

**he found these beautiful earrings at the jewelery shop that match your eyes." Then she took **

**her arm from my shoulders and stood in front of me, face serious. "Lysander really likes **

**you, Kaeleigh, if you get what I'm saying. And he is like a brother to me, so please don't hurt **

**him. His heart's fragile." And with that she ran away and started talking to Iris. **

**There was a tap on my shoulder, and Castiel and Lysander were standing behind me. **

**Both of their eyes were narrowed. "What'd she tell you? Either way, don't believe her, she's **

**lying." Castiel spoke quickly, and I knew then she was telling me the truth. Otherwise the **

**two of them wouldn't be so defensive. "Oh, and on Friday you have plans with us. Tell your **

**dad you're having a sleep over with Rosa." Lysander ordered, smiling slightly. **

**Now I was confused. He chuckled and explained to me that he wanted me to come to **

**his show, but it lasted until midnight and it'd just be easier for me to sleep over. "That and **

**Leigh makes amazing waffles." He added. I agreed just as the five minute warning bell rang, **

**and him and I parted with Castiel, going to our Chemistry class together. **

**Lysander **

**Rosa had told her about the dinner. I just knew it. As we sat down at our table in the **

**back, I reminded myself never to tell her a secret again. Good thing Rosalya didn't know that **

**the best part of Kaeleigh's present was going to be at the concert, where I planned to **

**dedicate a song to her, the song I'd been working on to perfect since I met her. **

**I was envisioning it my mind; I'd be on stage, singing, with her up front, and it'd be **

**as though only the two of us existed. Afterwards, I would pull her up on stage with me and **

**finally kiss her, hard and passionately, and we would be more than those awkward friends **

**who were in love but too shy to admit it. Her new earrings would glitter under the spotlight, **

**but when she'd open her eyes, they'd be the most beautiful thing in the room. Castiel and **

**Rosalya would no longer tease me for being to shy to make a move, because she'd be mine. **

**I tried to stop daydreaming there, but my mind let it keep going, and soon I was envisioning **

**what our kids would look like and what we would name them (I really liked the name **

**Charlotte for a girl.) **

**Kaeleigh poked my side, releasing me from my reverie, and pointed to the board- **

**which was filled with notes- and then to my closed notebook, indicating I should start **

**hurrying up. I scrambled to write down the notes before our teacher erased them, stealing **

**glances at the conceentrated girl beside me. **_**Her eyes are so pretty when she's focused…**_ **I **

**thought, forcing myself to continue writing the notes. **

**Every day, I fell back in love with her, and fell even deeper than I had the day before. **

**I wanted to tell her this so badly that it hurt, but I made myself wait until after my **

**show on Friday. That gave me four more days to love her even more. **

**Our teacher haded out our lab sheets for the day, and when he saw me rushing to **

**finish the notes, he asked me, "Day dreaming, Mr. Gerald?" I just looked at him blankly and **

**finished the last note, putting down my pencil, staying silent as he walked away. **

**My phone buzzed, and I saw it was a text from Chad, my guitarist. "I cancelled **

**Friday's show. Girlfriend's dad died, have to go to his funeral. Sorry." I stare at the phone in **

**disbelief, but understood and wouldn't argue. I told him to do what he had to do and sighed **

**outloud, glancing at Kaeleigh. So much for that plan…. **

**Later at lunch, I told Castiel about the show fallout. "Chad wrote down the tab for the **

**guitar for the song. I could get it from him tonight, and you could learn it by Friday. Please, **

**Castiel, for me?" I was begging, I was so desperate. **

"**Dude, Demon broke my guitar last night. I don't have the money for a new one and **

**Chad's never going to let me borrow his for almost a whole week so that you can serenade **

**some girl. Just handwrite the lyrics onto a sheet of paper and let her read them at Victoria's. **

**Speaking of which, you made the reservations, right?" Castiel said as he ripped apart his **

**burger. **

"**Last night. We should be good." I told him, setting my sandwich down, no appetite **

**left. "I just really want this night to be as perfect as she is." I whispered in confidence. All **

**he did was smile at me. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Kaeleigh **

**Friday came slowly, and when it finally came along and school ended, Lysander and I **

**drove over to my house. "Wear something nice, really nice. Victoria's is a black tie **

**restaurant." He informed me. We pulled into my driveway, and upon entering my house, **

**Doominic stood and shook Lyander's hand formally, as though he were my father. All my **

**real father did was nod a greeting to Lysander and go back to his newspaper. **

"**Finally taking my sister out on a date, huh?" He asked, eyebrows raised. **

**He quickly came up with a lie. "Not really, Rosalya, Leigh, and Castiel are coming, too. **

**It's her birthday dinner from us." Which wasn't a complete lie, the thre of them had given **

**Lysander some money to help pay for dinner. But they certainly weren't going to be there. **

**Dominic looked at him skeptically but overall accepted what he told him. The two of **

**them sat down on the couch and started talking, ultimately about music. "Actually, my **

**friends and I were supposed to have a show later tonight at the pizza place down the road, **

**but my guitarist's girlfriend's dad died, so we had to cancel." Lysander informed him. **

"**Let me guess… Lead singer?" Dominic said, smiling. Lysander nodded as I went up **

**the stairs to change. **

**I didn't really own anything formal. Lysander always dressed formally, so he had no **

**problems, but once Dominic was put under lockdown, my family stopped going to all of the **

**formal events and I'd grown out of everything. I sigh just as my mom enters, a dark blue **

**dress in hand. "This was my old formal event dress." She sighed. "If your father or brother **

**says anything about it not being age appropriate, I'll put them in their place." She handed it **

**to me and I held it up against myself and looked in the mirror. I had a shine to it, and was **

**very obviously curve hugging. The dress was floor length, but had a slight going up to **

**almost where my panties sat. It was a one-shoulder dress, and the back came halfway down **

**my back. Definately not age appropriate but definately one of the most beautiful things I'd **

**ever seen. **

**It fit me perfect, and my mom just smiled and she handed me a matching pair of **

**heels. She got up to give me a hug and whispered in my ear, "Lysander will love it. But **

**remember, no sex or drugs or illegal activity." We both laughed, and I was reminded of the **

**fun-loving, playful mom I had had over two years ago, before all of our stuff started going **

**missing. Before my father turned into a dictator. **

**I redid my hair into a messy bun and thenn walked down the stairs slowly, unsure of **

**myself in heels. I didn't bother packing pyjamas for tonight or clothes for tomorrow as Rosa **

**had told me she had it covered. When I finally reached the bottom of the stairs, my father, **

**Dominic, and Lysander all turned to stare. My father started to open his mouth in **

**disapproval, but he was shushed by my mother, who was standing behind me, happier than **

**I'd seen her in years. Lysander seemed stuck in mid-thought, mouth slightly agape, and **

**finally he swallowed and looked me in the eyes and whispered, "I told you blue was a good **

**colour on you…" I had never seen Lysander nervous like this before. "Shall we go? Our **

**reservation is scheduled for 5." **

**I nod as I walked towards him, the two fo us waving behind us as we leave. I let **

**Lysander and drive, and when he closes his door, he lets out a shaky breath and starts tthe **

**ignition, watching my out of the corners of his eyes the whole time. **

**Lysander **

**My thoughts had never been so unpure. The slight in the side of her dress, her bare, **

**perfect back, the slight amount of cleavage, the way the dress left no nook or cranny of her **

**to the imagination… I wanted her. She was just so god damn sexy in that dress, it was all I **

**could think about. When Leigh asked me if I was wearing briefs this morning, I thought he **

**was crazy. Now I understood why and I was thankful that I was wearing them, because **

**otherwise, this car ride would've been super awkward for her. **

**We pulled into the Victoria's parking lot at 4:57 and I help her out of the car, **

**escorting her to the front door. "Reservations for Lysander Gerald," I tell the maitre'd when **

**we enter the restaurant. **

**He searches the list and shakes his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I regret to inform you **

**that your reservation has been cancelled. Someone should have called you about this." He **

**says, an air of condecendence around him. **

"**Excuse me? Why have our reservations been cancelled?" I ask, agitated. **

"**Someone paid in cash for your spot, and there were no open spots left to move you **

**to." He looked past us at an eldery couple and welcomed them in, indirectly letting us know **

**we needed to leave. **

**Once we got outside, I slammed my fist down on the hood of the car. "I am so sorry, **

**Kaeleigh… Is there somewhere else you want to go?" I ask her softly, disappointed. She **

**points to across the street and laughs, and when I follow her finger, I find a McDonald's. **

"**McDonald's? Really? There are other restaurants, Kaeleigh, we can go literally anywhere in **

**town but Victoria's apparently." She nods slowly and I give in, laughing. We don't bother to **

**get in the car and drive, instead walking across the street. When we get to the other side, **

**she takes off her shoes and walks inside barefoot. **

"**They were killing me." She whispered in my ear. **

**We were extremely out of place, dressed formally inside of a McDonald's. I take a **

**chance and wrap an arm around her waist. "I've never eaten here in my entire life." I **

**confided. "Castiel loves it, but fast food has never appealed to me." **

"**Want me to order for you?" She asked me, blushing when she looks up at me. I tell **

**her to go for it and stand back as she orders our food. When she turned around with a tray **

**filled with greasily shiny food and a smile as bright as the sun, I had to smile back at her **

**perfection. **

**We sat down in a booth and she handed me a burger, which was better than I **

**thought it would be. After a few minutes, I looked up at her and sadly said, "I am so sorry, **

**Kaeleigh… I wanted this night to be perfect and it's all fallen out." She reached over and **

**placed her hands on top of mine. **

"**It is perfect, Lysander," her face told me she was being completely truthful, and it **

**gave me a nice, warm feeling inside. **

"**I really don't want to give you these in a McDonald's, but I also don't want to give **

**them to you with everyone else around…" I reached into my jacket pocket and pullled out **

**the handwritten lyrics of her song and the earrings, sliding them both towards her across **

**the table. "Open the box first." **

**Ever obediant, Kaeleigh did as she was told and opened the box, slowly. She gasped **

**when the earrings came into full view, and her eyes became wet with tears of joy. "They're **

**beautiful!" She breathed in exclamation. I was glad she didn't try and say they were too **

**expensive or she couldn't accaept a gift like this. It made her seem more earnest. She put **

**them in and I loved how well they matched her eyes. But instead of drawing attention away **

**from them, they made them seem bigger and brighter somehow. **

**As she reached for the paper, I grew anxious and suddenly, I couldn't let her see **

**them. I snatched it back and shook my head. "I changed my mind. You can't have this **

**yet…" I made sure the emphasis was on the yet. I would let her know exactly how I felt, **

**just not today. **


End file.
